clarity of glass in SE Asian aquariums

[ruyle]

Hi folks,
I'm curious to know if the glass used in most available aquariums in SG
and Thailand has a tint to it: looking on edge, is it a blue-green or green?
The tanks available in the states for the most part have this characteristic
which is why some favor acrylic tanks for optimum color definition. There's
a brand of glass that has almost absolute transparency and is quite expensive. I can't remember what it is called, something like "starfire" which is used in custom applications. I imagine the Juwel aquariums have very good color definition but it has been some years since I've looked at one, very nice tanks! The O'Dell tanks back in the 70s had very good color definition but they were bought out by Perfecto, who doesn't use this high quality glass. I really miss the color quality of my old metaframes and O'Dell tanks. I think the glass used in both may have been thinner, and better quality.

Regards,

Bill
farang9

[whuntley]

Bill,

Soda-Lime glass has a slightly greenish tint that is only visible when looking through a whole lot of it (like from an edge).

The effect of 1/4" or even 3/8" of it is so slight you would have real trouble detecting a color difference in two side-by-side tanks using "Water White" and regular window glass. For the actual spectral properties, see:

http://www.valleydesign.com/soda-limepic.htm

If you add back that reflective loss you see at the bottom, it is pretty transparent stuff. "Star Brite," "Water White" and other glasses are spectrally purer, but the differences in blue and red are 5% or less and about 0 in the green.

Acryic has a tiny advantage in being whiter, but the biggie is the better index of refraction match to water and lower index reduce its reflective losses and reduced glare from the room reflections.

You can spend a great deal of money on the more transparent glass without getting any useful visual improvement. Trust me. I used to do optics for a living.

BTW, all we had was the stainless frame tanks when I got into the hobby, and I learned to hate them. :wink: Every one I had used cheap float window glass and was green at all edges. Just harder to see under all that tar. I broke enough and repaired them to know.

Wright

[stormhawk]

Bill, locally we have professional tank-makers that can make tanks according to your specifications. There's a whole range of glass types for you to choose from. The greenish tint is evident in most tanks we have locally but it doesn't affect the whole look of the tank. Most people go for those Japanese branded tanks like Five-Plan, which come in sizes from S to L in a 3 tank package. I have one 2ft curved-front tank from Nisso and its simply beautiful. The base is reinforced and the clarity of the tank is just nice.

[ruyle]

Wright,
I'd be happy with Soda-Lime glass: all the tanks I have now have this
rather dark blue-green tinge to them, be they Perfecto, WalMart, etc.
The O'Dell's (and I'm going back into the mists of time 24 years) had
a light-green tinge when looking on edge, and I believe the glass was
thinner, too. "Star Brite" was the name I was struggling for, thanks. I don't think I will ever be moved to buy an acrylic tank
because of the scratches problem. My remembrances of metaframes is
obviously clouded by my nostalgia for them. I still think they are retro-cool
looking. But maintenance is a nightmare, too

Jianyang, I hope these Japanese tanks are available in Ubon! Packing them
up from SG would be expensive...do these tanks have a framed-in top or
open like the ADA aquariums? Curious.

Regards,

Bill
farang9

[stormhawk]

Most come with black framing with the top rim of the tank framed on all 4 sides. Sometimes it comes with a clear acrylic cover.

[CM Media]

The super clear glass used here in Singapore is known as the crystal glass among the trade.

I've once my contractor to workout the cost (just the material cost alone) I almost fell off from the chair! If I could remember clearly, the cost is around SGD$1500 - 2000 for a 6ft tank! I can't imagine how much it'll cost when made into a tank with wooden cabinet below plus the markups from the manufacturer.

The plus point is that the glass is crystal clear and not tinted. :wink: Maybe I'll try to get a 4ft tank with only the front glass using the crystal glass and the rest still stick to the normal greenish tinted glass.

[FC]

I agree with Wright. We are talking about looking through a decently good/clear glass (not stained glass) at less than 12 mm for most cases. Moreover you are not going to have a single coloured items inside the tank.

It's just like a $50,000 hi-fi and a $40,000 ones, you will not notice the difference unless you compare them side by side.